This London Cocktail Bar Just Became The World’s Best • Dandelyan

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Triumph and tragedy for fans of Dandelyan.

Talk about going out on the top of your game. London cocktail bar Dandelyan, created by the irrepressible Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr Lyan) celebrated its fourth birthday on Monday – and promptly announced that it be would shutting up shop in the coming weeks. At the World’s 50 Best Bar awards, a mere two days later, Dandelyan was crowned The World’s Best Bar, the latest in a long line of accolades. Which is kind of bittersweet, given that we have precious little time left to enjoy it.

Dandelyan built its fearsome reputation on the backs of wildly inventive cocktails, with a strong focus on botanical ingredients. It also didn’t hurt that it was pretty as a picture spot to drink in, as you can see. Still, all good things must come to an end, and Dandelyan has had a pretty stellar run. In an Instagram post announcing the closure, Chetiyawardana said:

“There’s so much I think we can do, and so much we want to challenge, discuss and create in this industry that, like with White Lyan, it makes sense to burn it down, start afresh, and rise again as something brighter, shinier and more fitting of where we’re (all) now at.”

The Dandelyan team are holding onto the space (located in the Mondrian hotel), so you can expect their next project to take up residence there – even though Chetiyawardana is keeping mum about what comes next.

Whilst it’s a shame to lose the newly-minted World’s Best Bar, nine other London bars scooped a place in the top 50 – with three of them joining Dandelyan in the top six. The Savoy’s legendary American Bar (last year’s champion) took 2nd place despite a recent change of head bartender, the Connaught Bar in Mayfair nabbed 5th, and Soho spot Bar Termini settled into 6th. The capital’s complement of honoured bars is completed by Oriole (17th), Coupette (18th), Scout (28th), Three Sheets (29th), Happiness Forgets (35th), and Swift (46th). So if you’re saddened by the departure of Dandelyan, remember there are loads of other great spots to drown your sorrows in…